Silent Walls
by Fabscriba
Summary: The typical high school hatred turns deadly. Popular brainiac, Annabeth Chase and stereotypical jock, Percy Jackson are abducted by one they had come to trust. Secrets are uncovered and reasons are given. With their lives on the line and the clock ticking down, they have to take their life in their own hands, put their differences aside, and fight to survive. (All Mortal AU)
1. Introduction

**Silent Walls**

**1**

**Disclaimer-****I don't own the Percy Jackson series, nor do I own any of the content or characters!**

Annabeth Chase, 16 year old freshman, sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. She was currently hunched over her World History book during lunch, trying to study, but the constant chitter-chatter of the cafeteria got on her nerves. On any other day, Annabeth could study through an earthquake if she wanted to, but today she was _extra_ agitated. The most popular and the most _annoying _junior in the school, Percy Jackson, had stepped over his boundaries.

Everyone at Goode High knew the frustration and tension between the two of them. The start of their problems were rooted in their childhood, third grade to be specific. Anyway, he was being snarky with her in Algebra and being the short tempered she was, Annabeth sort of snapped. She had been trying to work on the warm-up and Percy was pestering her. He liked to use his dyslexia and ADHD as an excuse to get other people to do his work. Most of the time, Annabeth was the target for his hopes of getting a nerd to complete all of his work.

Annabeth just about had enough of that brat, Percy Jackson. He was spoiled in Annabeth's opinion and stupid enough to get trapped in a paper bag. Annabeth scolded herself for letting an idiot like Jackson for getting in the way of hr studies. She wasn't a total nerd, in fact, she was practically popular, but just on the opposite side of popularity from Percy Jackson. Annabeth liked to think that she was the nicer side of popularity.

Back in the cafeteria, Annabeth twirled her ballpoint pen in her hand. When she tried to focus of The Cold War, all she could think about was stabbing Percy Jackson in the neck with her ballpoint pen. She swallowed a lump in her throat, hastily taking a swig of her water bottle. She was glad no one was disturbing her. They must've known she was mad. Rule Number One: _Never mess with Annabeth when she's mad. _

"Hey Owl-Head," said a sickeningly familiar voice to her right. She just grunted, not looking up from her textbook. "You can't let a stupid jock like Jackson make you angry."

"Oh yeah, Thalia?" Annabeth challenged. Her fist clenched around her ballpoint pen so hard that her knuckles turned white. "He's such an idiot! He thinks he's all _that._ I mean, yeah, he's the captain of the swimming team, but that doesn't give him the right to be flat out rude to his innocent classmates.

Thalia chuckled. "See what I mean? You're letting this jerk get in your head. Just be the more _mature _person, and walk away from him and his bad boy nonsense."

"_Mature?_" asked Annabeth, her mouth agape. She turned to her best friend and scoffed. "What do _you _know about being mature? You're the one who dumped hamburger grease on Jason for throwing up."

"Hey!" shouted Thalia in protest. "It almost ruined my favorite Green Day shirt. He had it coming to him."

Annabeth scoffed again and rolled her stormy gray eyes. "Whatever." puffed Annabeth grumpily. Thalia chuckled lightly and took a large bite from her delicious red apple.

The blond girl rested her chin on her hand and looked down glumly at her textbook. Her heart sank slightly and she slammed the book shut. In an act of haste, she pushed the book away from her while pouting.

"Don't pout," Jason said teasingly, just appearing and sitting across from Annabeth and Thalia. "It'll give you wrinkles."

Annabeth rolled her eyes at him. Jason was Thalia's younger brother. He was a Freshman, but unlike Jackson and his gang, we didn't mind being seen hanging with freshmen. He had golden blond hair, opposite of his sister's jet black hair. But they shared the same sky blue eyes which shared the same happy twinkle. The little scar above Jason's upper lip twitched whenever he smiled or laughed. Annabeth could vaguely remember Thalia telling her that he had tried eating a stapler when he was a toddler.

"Bugger off, Grace," Annabeth muttered.

Jason's face contorted into confusion. "She's grumpy because of Percy Jackson," Thalia advised. She placed her hand on her brother's back and smirked. "I think she's in love."

"I am _NOT _in love!" snapped Annabeth, standing up in fury. The ballpoint pen was practically cracking in her hand. "The day I fall in love with Percy Jackson is the day it rains giraffes in a desert."

Thalia raised her hands in surrender. "It was just a suggestion," said Thalia innocently. "But seriously, you let him get on your nerves too much. You both hate each other so you stay out of each other's way. What more can you want?"

Annabeth shrugged slightly. "I guess you're right, but… I mean, when he _doesn't _avoid me, he is the nuisance of my life. Like a parasite that never goes away. I don't know how _anyone _can be that rude and idiotic."

Thalia shrugged. "The Gods only know," Thalia muttered. "You never know what's going on in the kelp infested head of his."

Annabeth agreed silently, nodding lightly. She didn't take much note of Thalia using the term 'gods' instead of 'god' because it was kind of their thing. They're clique had been obsessed with Ancient Greek and the Greek Gods. After a while, they just got used to using the term gods instead of god.

The bell rang and shook Annabeth out of her thoughts. She packed up her lunch box and grabbed her book. "See you later, guys," said Annabeth, waving to them as they walked out of the entrance to the cafeteria. Annabeth exited through the far door so she could get to her next class, Biology, faster.

She hurried through the halls, stopping occasionally to say hello to some of her friends. Calypso had tried stopping her to talk, but Annabeth had to sprint away to get away from her. It wasn't that she didn't like Calypso. She was nice and everything, but she _never shut up._

Happy to successfully evade Calypso's attack on words, she hurried into her Honors Biology class. She walked in and waved to Mrs. Dabbs.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Dabbs," said Annabeth warmly.

"Good afternoon," responded Mrs. Dabbs with a warm smile on her face.

Annabeth took her usual seat in the front row of the class. The usually empty seat next to her was empty as usual. She got settled in her seat and pulled out her pen and a black notebook. She waited as more students piled into the classroom. Annabeth let her mind wander, staring blankly at the teacher's desk. She hadn't noticed the bell ringing and Mrs. Dabbs calling attention to the class.

Annabeth could rant day and night about Percy Jackson. The brainless jock only cared about swimming and himself. Nothing about him was pleasing and sensitive in any way. At first, she had a hard time seeing how he got to date Drew. Drew was easily the most popular girl in the entire school. She was absolutely stunning and everyone in the school bowed down to her power. Annabeth had even heard rumors that Percy followed her around like a puppy dog, living in _her _shadow. But now, she could see why they were meant for each other. Drew was in many ways, out of Percy's leauge, but her poor attitude and her…amazing…ability to overreact gave Percy and her the proper jerk connection. They were both idiots and way in over their big fat heads.

The blond was snapped out of her thoughts when the door swung open and Mrs. Dabbs's lesson was interrupted. An infamous teen stepped in the door, his mischievous green eyes sparkling in satisfaction. He held a purple slip in his hand and Annabeth's stomach knotted up. Percy Jackson had a class change into _her _class. Anger rolled off of her like a storm, making the entire room humid. Percy handed Mrs. Dabbs the note and she nodded.

"Welcome to my class, Mr. Jackson," said Mrs. Dabbs. "But please do try to show up on time from now on. You can take a seat in any empty seat.

Annabeth's eyes darted to the empty desk next to her. The room's temperature seemed to plummet thirty degrees. Percy nodded and smirked, slowly sauntering to the empty seat next to Annabeth. He sat down and slid his torn, worn-out backpack onto the floor.

They made eye contact for a split second before starting to grumble under their breath. This was going to be a _long_ class.

**A/N: Thanks for reading! I was thinking of continuing it, but I didn't have much time. The upcoming chapters with the actual action will be longer, I promise. I'll have the next chapter up by tomorrow most likely, or the day after. But the next chapter _will_ have the actual abduction scene!**

**Feel free to review and give me any thoughts on this story! I take suggestions for where you want to the story to go or if you want to point something out for me to fix! Thanks again! :) **


	2. One's Safety

**Silent Walls**

**2**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or anything related to it.**

The class was awful for Annabeth. Her rage was fuming and the raging storm inside of her was devouring her ability to concentrate on the given task. The entire time, she could feel Jackson glaring at her mercilessly. She even accidentally ripped a page in her Biology notebook in anger. If anything _really_ got Annabeth to tick, it was being in the same room with Percy Jackson. She could tell that he had a similar feeling about her, but it did not bother her one bit. The more he hated her, the better.

Once Biology had ended, Annabeth hurried out of the room. But with her usual rotten luck, Jackson had followed her. He carried his blue, torn up backpack on one shoulder over his super stereotypical leather jacket. Just seeing it aggravated Annabeth to no end.

"You should be more polite," Jackson hissed after being ignored by Annabeth after Biology. "If you weren't so stuck up and hypocritical, maybe you'd actually see how great of a guy I am."

Annabeth rolled her eyes at his ridiculous statement. "I'm surprised you actually know the meaning of hypocritical, Jackson. It's the biggest word I think I've ever heard you use." Annbeth retorted with a bitter attitude.

"I'm not an idiot," Jackson said through gritted teeth. Annabeth swore she saw the same flicker of emotion underneath his glare. Her own expression softened a bit at that.

At that point they had stopped walking and just stared each other down as they argued. "You're an irresponsible jerk without a sense of empathy for others!"

"I don't have empathy?" Percy retorted and scoffed. "Please, if anyone here has no empathy, it's you, Chase! You think you're so perfect. You don't care about other people and what they want or need."

Annabeth rolled her eyes yet again. Why did this guy have to be so infuriating? "Oh, and you do?" She tilted her head to the side with a challenging glare. "When's the last time you actually _cared_ about someone other than yourself? Huh?"

Percy Jackson's face darkened. He opened his mouth to say something, but the school intercom system turned on. **(Sorry, I forgot what it was called.) **"Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert! This is _not _a drill. Intruder Alert, _not_ a drill!"

Percy and Annabeth looked to each-other. For a moment, their argument and hatred was long forgotten. Percy grabbed Annabeth's wrist with surprising gentleness. He sprinted down the hall and Annabeth followed him. On the outside, she was completely calm. But on the inside, her mind was going wild. Fear was consuming her insides. She didn't care that she was with Jackson anymore. As long as they were both safe, they'd be happy. She ran absent mindlessly with him until he opened the door to a janitor's closet and shoved her inside.

"Ow," she cried. She was about to scold him, but before she could, Percy had clamped his hand over her mouth He put a finger to his lips. "Shh," he said quietly.

Percy forced Annabeth hide behind a janitor cart. He arranged spray bottles on the shelf so her face would be hidden from anyone who opened the closet. She had to admit that it was pretty smart. Anger was lifted from her chest and immense gratitude replaced it. Annabeth wasn't so irrational that she would still have a blind, utter hatred for someone who was trying to help her.

A sudden thought hit her like a ton of bricks. Where was he going to go? Surely, Annabeth couldn't stay safely hidden while he stayed out like a sitting duck. There was barely any room for him in the closet. She tried grabbing his wrist and pulling him back in, but he snapped it out of her grasp.

"No," he ordered quietly. "I'm going to go check it out. Stay here and _stay hidden._"

"Jackson, no." Annabeth retorted. "I can't let you go out on your own."

He stood up and stepped out of the janitor's closet anyway. "I'll be back, stay quiet." He ordered before he shut the door.

Annabeth could hear his footsteps echoing throughout the empty tiled halls. Soon, they faded in the background and Annabeth was left in silence. Panic rose in her throat and she couldn't help her ragged breathing. She wasn't one who was prone to panic attacks, but when lives were on the line, she couldn't help but panic. She shut her stormy gray eyes harshly and prayed that this was all just a dream, or a cruel, cruel joke.

It seemed like hours as she sat in the janitors closet. How could she just sit here while Jackson had walked out in potentially dangerous hallways? He could get injured or get in some _serious _trouble.

She panicked even more when she heart footsteps. They got louder quickly. Someone was _running. _Her hopes lifted slightly when she got the hope that it might be Percy. It wasn't long before I heard even more footsteps after the first set. Either there were to intruders and they were running through the school, or someone was being chased. Annabeth ignored all her smart impulses and she peeked through the door, opening it a tiny crack. She saw Percy, sprinting down the hallway and a large bald man chasing him. A large pistol in hand.

Annabeth's heart froze. Her fingers felt numb and her entire body betrayed her. Her mind turned into a tunnel when she saw the man raise his gun and fire it. The gunshot echoed and rattled in her mind, giving her a serious migraine. She screamed when she saw Percy tumble onto the ground, blood seeping through his jeans on his upper thigh. He was laying on his side, groaning and screaming in pain. He raised his eyes and met hers. He gasped slightly, probably cursing like a sailor in his mind at her for being so stupid.

"Don't touch him!" She screamed, pushing open the door and standing behind the man. The bald guy whipped around and saw her. He didn't seem shocked or scared like Annabeth thought he'd be. He just smirked, like he knew something she didn't.

Suddenly, arms wrapped around her waist and hoisted her up. She screamed and kicked in desperation. "Let me go!" She screamed.

"Not today, Annabeth," a familiar voice hissed in her ear. She pivoted her head so she could take a look at her abductor. It was Luke, her crush ever since eight grade. Betrayal stabbed her like a cold hard knife to the chest. She was literally speechless.

The bald man had hoisted Percy up, who was having a very difficult time standing. The man had grabbed him by the hair and pulled his head back. "So pretty…." He muttered and Percy jumped in fright, trying to push away the man.

Annabeth struggled against Luke, trying to get to Percy who was obviously scared out of his mind and in a lot of pain. Despite the warning glances she was sending him, Percy thrashed against the man, trying to desperately break free. His breathing was ragged and shallow. I could see his shoulders and hands shaking like crazy. He was pale from blood loss.

"Nu-uh," the bald man said with a tsk. He pulled out a small hand towel and Annabeth's eyes went wide. It was chloroform. She fought against Luke harder. She started screaming at the man to let Percy go, but he didn't budge.

Percy had noticed the hand towel too and started to panic even more. "Shh, baby, sleep." The man said in a tone that Annabeth _really _didn't like. He pressed the towel against Percy's face.

"No!" She screamed in protest.

Percy thrashed around quickly, trying to buck the man off, but it was no good. Percy's struggles grew weaker and he soon crumpled to the ground. Annabeth screamed again.

"Stop screaming, girl!" The bald man cried in anger and stormed over to her. She tried to kick him in his soft spot as he approached, but he had caught her foot. He took the same towel he had drugged Percy with and forced it over Annabeth's face.

The corners of her vision started to go dark. She sent one more final kick towards the bald man. Luckily, she had gotten the soft spot. The man cried out in pain and Annabeth couldn't help but humorlessly laugh.

The world went dark around her and Annabeth crumpled to the ground.

**Chapter two is done! Sorry about this chapter length and quality. I'm not the best at writing action, so please bare with me there :3**

**Thank you so much for reading and feel free to review anything you want! Please put suggestions for upcoming chapters, it would be greatly appreciated! :)**


	3. Cold

**Silent Walls**  
**3**  
**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO! **

**A/N: Sorry for the tremendously hiatus for this update. I had computer problems and I was working on a very long chapter, but I lost it. I wanted to get something out before you all gave up on it. Sorry about the quality of this chapter, it was a bit rushed, but I shall do my best to upgrade the quality in the future.**

The pain in Annabeth's head only increased when her head collided with a window. Startled and dazed, she opened her eyes and panic filled her body, flooding out all other emotions. She was in the back of a van, the windows tinted and...was that spray paint? Her eyes watered as she glanced to the side and saw the bloody body of Perseus Jackson. Blood was soaked into the van's floor. His entire right pant leg was soaked in a dark maroon color. Her gut wrenched and tears prickled in the corner of the gray storm clouds that were her eyes. Annabeth managed to keep her vomit down and she started to scramble towards Jackson despite the situation of her hands being bound.

A faint conversation met her ears. It sounded as if it was coming from the driver's section of the car. Annabeth could imagine the horrible and vile things that Luke and his apprentice were saying. How they were going to torture them. A shudder went through her body. He hands went to Percy's neck, feeling with her fingers. She found a pulse. It was faint and weak, barely struggling to hold onto life. She whimpered deep in her throat as the van rattled. The ride became more bumpy as if the van was now driving on a gravel road.

"Get the girl out of the car and bring her to the cellar. I'll patch up the boy and bring him down afterwards." Who Annabeth assumed was the apprentice said as the van came to a stop. Annabeth's heart dropped and she wouldn't admit it out loud, but her hand clenched protectively around Percy's.

She gasped as light filled the trunk of the van. Squinting, she realized that the back doors had been opened and Luke was standing there. He seized her wrist in his fist and pulled her rather violently out of the van. The area around them was vacant, thick forests surrounding a small worn-down hut on a gravel path. Typical horror movie destination, Annabeth thought bitterly.

The blond was snapped out of her thoughts when she felt herself being pulling into the rotting cabin. She began struggling, her wrists prying against the harsh rope. She had to get back to Percy. No matter how much she hated him, she couldn't let Luke's apprentice take him away from her. As much as she hated to admit it, that kelp-for-brains needed her. And she needed him. A sharp intake of breath escaped her lips as Luke's grip on her forearm tightened.

The cabin was vacant. The morbid tones and gloomy atmosphere chilled Annabeth to the bone. The rotting building was so dark, she couldn't see a thing. If she could, her over-thinking brain envisioned decapitated animals hanging on plaques on the walls. The carpet she could feel under her worn-out sneakers felt jagged and torn.

"Let me go! Where is he taking Percy?" The blond demanded, struggling in her captor's grip. The boy's face, which was sullied with a long jagged scar across one side of his face, intimidated her.

"Shut up," he demanded, opening a door and tightening his grip. All that Annabeth could see was darkness. Luke took descending steps into the black void, making Annabeth shudder. "Now walk with me quietly and less pain will be inflicted on you and your friend."  
_He's not my friend,_ she thought bitterly. But then she mentally slapped herself. What was she thinking? Here they were in a life or death situation with Jackson being gravely injured, and all she could think about was her hatred for him. Even after everything they had been through, she kept holding that childish grudge. He wasn't her friend, but for now, he was all she had.

For the third time since she had woken up, Annabeth was pulled from her thoughts. Luke had quickly pushed her into a cold stone room. As she looked around hysterically, all she could see were four stone walls with one cot. A single flickering bulb hung from the ceiling, only illuminating the center of the room. On the door that Luke had slammed shut and seemingly locked, there was a small cat flap. The thought made the blonde's stomach churn. She was alone in this freezing and dark cell. Percy Jackson was with those _lunatics. _She didn't trust herself to imagine what they might be doing.

Annabeth caught sight of the rusted cot in the corner. She shakily made her way over to it and sat down. Burying his face in her dirtied, callused hands, she let her mind wander. How could things have become so bad? What had she done in life to deserve being locked in a cell in the middle of nowhere?

The blond stood up, unable to sit down with nothing but her thoughts. She paced the room and glanced at the decorations on the wall that she hadn't noticed before. There was a set of shackles in the opposite corner. Four different loops indicated that the shackles were designed to hold both wrists and ankles. Annabeth shuddered in agony whilst looking at it. A horrifying image of one of them being trapped in those shackles, ribs sickeningly visible flashed in her mind. She just hoped it wouldn't come true.

As the scared teenage girl continued to look around, she spotted nothing else to investigate. Her eyes darted to the steel door that she entered in. Just as she began to take shaky steps toward it, the titanium door was thrown open. Annabeth stumbled back in shock as Luke reappeared. He had a heap of a body in his arms and Annabeth's heart plummeted to her stomach. Luke dumped the body onto the unforgiving stone floor and slammed the door shut yet again. The heavy clunk indicating the door had been locked echoed throughout the silent cell.

Annabeth sprinted towards the heap on the floor. The run to get to him seemed to take hours, yet it was only seconds. She quickly knelt by the figure's side and turned him over onto his back. Her eyes trailed from his legs up to his torso. She could see a sloppy layer of bandages wrapped around the figure's right leg. Blood was already soaking through the bandages. Her eyes trailed up his torso, past his ripped shirt, and to his face. Tears began to cascade down her dirty cheeks as she stared into the pale, lifeless face of Percy Jackson.

**To be continued...**


	4. Chained

**Silent Walls**

**4**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO, sadly.**

The paleness of her rival's face scared Annabeth more than she'd like to admit. He looked almost dead. His hands were slack and lifeless. She couldn't imagine the pain he would be in when he awoke. _If he awoke_, Annabeth thought. She didn't bother to scold herself for the impure thought. Annabeth was slowly losing hope that everything would be alright. How could it? She was alone with a gun-shot victim who just so happened to be Percy Jackson. Her captor was a long child-hood friend that she had come to trust. The world around her as shattering as she knew it.

With shaky hands, Annabeth cupped Jackson's cold face with her hands. "C'mon asshole, wake up," she pleaded, shaking his shoulders. "Do not leave me alone in this. Don't you dare!"

Annabeth widened her eyes in shock when she saw a flicker across his eyelids. His head rolled weakly in her direction, his nose and eyelids scrunching up with effort. The blond gasped happily and knelt closer to him. "Hey, don't rush," she whispered, taking a more gentle tone with him. "It's okay, just open your eyes." Asshole or not, Jackson was still in this boat with her. He was a victim too and what he had done did not make him deserve this.

Relief flooded through her as she saw the irritatingly beautiful sea-green eyes appeared. They were glazed over in confusion and fear. She assumed that he was still in a daze from the chloroform. His eyebrows were furrowed together, his eyes squinted. With a whimper, he quickly shut his eyes again. Annabeth was confused at first, but finally realized that the dim light above them must've hurt his eyes.

"Hang on, Jackson," she said gently. Annabeth looped her arms under his armpits and pulled Percy towards the shadows. He grunted in pain as she dragged him across the floor, probably causing strain to his leg. "I'm sorry," she whispered lightly before kneeling back at his side.

"You can open your eyes now," she reassured him, putting a hand to his cheek. It disgusted her. She was being so...sweet to someone that only just yesterday she hated. The concept was difficult to comprehend: Annabeth being kind and nurturing to her long time rival, Jackson being so weak and defenseless.

As those chilling eyes fluttered open once more, he seemed much more aware. "Ugh," Annabeth heard him groan. "What happened?"

Annabeth looked down at him, tears silently falling down her cheeks. She had one of his still cold hands in her hands, trying to warm it up and provide comfort. "It's a long story," she whispered. "No,no,no,no! Don't sit up. Stay down," she subdued him after his attempts to sit up, keeping a hand on his chest to keep him down.

Jackson's eyes bolted around the room. Annabeth could see the fear and confusion calculating across his face. She grew concerned as his breathing quickened, panic swimming in those deep green eyes. "Calm down," she said sternly, the comforting tone disappearing from her voice. "You're already injured enough as it is. I don't need some jock with a gun shot wound and a panic attack."

Annabeth didn't care about the sudden cruelness of her voice. In dire situations, she tended to get angry at the problem. In this case, she assumed it wasn't the best idea. No matter how idiotic Jackson was, he needed her and she needed him. The only way they would survive this is if they did it together.

"Oh my god," Jackson whispered. Annabeth glanced at him and could see the realization in his eyes. He supported himself with his elbows, staying within Annabeth's restriction range. "The school...the men... Luke...Oh my god. Those freaking assholes! Where are we?" He asked, his words jumbled together. Before she could answer, his face twisted into a grimace and she realized that he had finally felt the gunshot wound.

He was about to cry out if it weren't for Annabeth thinking fast and covering his mouth. "Shhh," she shushed, trying to refrain from getting angry. "I know it hurts, but you gotta stay calm and quiet, okay?" As soon as she could feel his sorry excuse for a nod, she pulled her hand back.

Jackson took deep breathes, and Annabeth knew he was trying to keep himself calm. Whilst the jock was composing himself, Annabeth walked over to the titanium door. She repeatedly hit her flat palms on the door.

"Hey!" Annabeth yelled, still hitting the door. "You can't just leave us in here like this. He's really hurt, he needs medical help! Hey, are you listen-" She was cut off by the door swinging open, resulting Annabeth to stumble back and fall down. Luke stepped in, anger clearly displayed on his ashen face.

"Shut up for once," he snarled, advancing towards her. Before Annabeth could scoot backwards in attempt to escape, she received a hard slap across her face. She cursed silently and held a hand to the throbbing, red area. She stared up at Luke with betrayal dancing in her eyes. Her right cheek continued to throb and burn

"Now listen to me hen I talk, you understand?" He asked sternly, gripping the front of Annabeth's shirt. He pulled her closer so their noses were only centimeters apart. She could feel his alcoholic breath tickling across her face. She grimaced in disgust and tried pulling back.

"Don't touch her," a hoarse, yet surprisingly strong voice yelled. Annabeth's eyes darted towards the left corner of the room where she had put Jackson. Due to lack of light, she couldn't see him, but she feared that he had gotten up. Luke smirked silently and released her shirt. "Looks like the hero wants the beat down," he hissed.

"No!" Annabeth cried, scrambling forward on her hands and knees, punching Luke's legs. He simply kicked her gut, causing her to move away.

"Relax beauty queen," he hissed, walking over to Jackson. She couldn't see what was going on in the darkness, but she could see Luke's silhouette, grabbing Jackson and dragging him to the opposite wall. Jackson's cries and groans hurt Annabeth's heart. With each yelp, she felt like a hand was being clenched around her heart.

"What are you doing with him?" She demanded, seeing them more clearly now that they were closer to the dim light above. Her abdomen ached, dulling the pain in her cheeks.

"Just locking up the wild card," Luke hissed. "You're going to be a problem, I can tell." She heard him say, obviously directed at Jackson. Annabeth could hear the rattling of metal and a pained groan. Luke had fastened the metal shackles on Jackson's wrists and ankles, making sure to painfully rattle his leg in the process.

Luke stepped away from Jackson, revealing his entire body. His arms were shackled at about the same level of his eyes, tightly connected to the wall. His ankles had shackles around them with a chain leading to the wall. The black-haired gunshot victim was struggling against the bonds around his wrist, churning and twisting them everyway possible. Annabeth quickly made her way over and put her hands on his, causing him to stop.

"Jackson, quit it. You'll only hurt yourself more," she muttered in exasperation. This guy was like a toddler: impossible to take care of, and stubborn. She hadn't noticed Luke's discreet exit when he tried pulling at the shackles. "These aren't coming off anytime soon," she muttered, looking around.

Her eyes glanced around until they fell on the cot on the other side of the room. "Hang on," she muttered, walking over to the cot. She reached under and grabbed a rusted rod. After a short effort, Annabeth got the cot on Jackson's side of the room. She shoved it up against the wall, the head of the cot only inches from Jackson's chained figure.

"If we're going to survive," she started gently, kneeling down in front of him. "We're going to need rest. I'll be sleeping right next to you so wake me up if something happens. We both need strength, so try to get some sleep," she said softly.

"Okay," Jackson whispered back, obviously exhausted. "And wake me up if something happens too, okay?"

Annabeth nodded with a forced smile. "Okay," she said before standing up. She sunk onto the cot and laid down, her blond curls sprawled over the edge of the twin sized cot. Fear kept her awake for a very long time until her eyes finally crusted closed and the world became black around her.

**To be continued... **


End file.
